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🏋️‍♂️ 17 fitness influencers actually worth following

Today’s newsletter is presented by MAJOR FITNESS. Enter MAJOR FITNESS’ Biceps Curl Challenge for a chance to win $1500. Head here for more!

Here’s what’s going on in today’s edition:

  • 2024’s top fitness influencers to follow

  • Weightlifter Mart Seim talks about competing natty

  • Tom Stoltman’s diet for the Arnold

Social Media

Above the Influence

Credit: Starstuff / Shutterstock

The internet can sometimes be a mixed bag of goofy cats, algorithm-induced political and social rage, and a vast world of fitness influencers that has well exceeded the market saturation point.

When it comes to the latter, it can be nearly impossible to tell which “fitfluencers” are actually worth following and which need to be avoided at all costs. That’s why we combed all the major social media platforms to provide you with guidance on the best fitness content creators currently on the web.

The list contains respected strength coaches, early adopters of the internet art form, and tech-savvy young people with abs. Nobody here is going to try to sell you peptides or off-brand Viagra, and the number of advanced degrees featured here dwarfs what you’re typically shown in your feed. Start letting the right people influence your life with the list below.

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Weightlifting

Seim Opens Up

Credit: Mart Seim / YouTube

On Friday, Feb. 16, Estonian weightlifter Mart Seim shed some light on social media regarding his approach to combating PED-enhanced athletes on the lifting platform. Basically, Seim decided the only way to compete with drug-using competitors was to push his raw strength well past the usual benchmark for Olympic weightlifters.

Though Seim didn’t point out any athletes by name, we do know that he has gone against many athletes who have tested positive for PEDs by the IWF at some point in their careers. Check out his full interview and philosophy on training and competition.

Strongman

A Strong Diet

Credit: Stoltman Brothers

Strongman competitor and very large human being Tom Stoltman has very different nutrition needs than a 150-pound accountant who never leaves his desk during tax season. While not something that many can, should, or will want to copy, Stoltman recently shared the diet plan needed to fuel his voracious appetite and incredible workload during his prep for the heaviest contest of the spring: The Arnold Classic. 

Stoltman’s food choices are predictably over the top — we’re talking chicken wings, fries, spaghetti, meatballs, and far more. So, gaze in wonder at what it takes to maintain 400 of the strongest pounds on Earth during the prime strongman season.

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Everything Else

Reverse the Polarity

Credit: KB Muscle Gain – Joe Daniels Kettlebell Training / Youtube

  • Before fancy multi-grip bars were readily available in gyms and easily shipped via online purchasing, lifters looking to change up their bench press training effectively utilized the reverse-grip bench press. Find out how to do it and learn how to properly program it for your training.

  • The world weightlifting tour leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympics made a stop in Bulgaria for this year’s edition of the European Weightlifting Championships. Here are the final results.

  • Fresh off the heels of the record-breaking 2024 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships, the organizers have given you ample time to set an alarm on your calendar by releasing the dates for the 2025 version.